On The Mic...WIT Shaz - Women in Tech Leadership: The Upsides

About On The Mic...WIT Shaz - Women in Tech Leadership: The Upsides

On the Mic…WIT Shaz is more than just a podcast; it’s a movement - Dedicated to inspiring and empowering more women in tech to enter into & remain in C-suite, Exec and leadership roles and to encourage this we need to be talking more about the UPSIDES of being in tech leadership roles. The more we talk about positive impact, the more we attract more positive impact!! What to expect? 🎙️ Each week I sit down with incredible humans in tech leadership who keep it real — no sugar-coating, just raw, honest stories. From zig-zag career paths to turning rejection into redirection.

Publisher

TechtoExec by Sharon (Shaz) Daly

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

2 Sept 2025

Latest episode

11 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

28 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Oct 2026

   Episode 28: Women in Tech Leadership: Advocates/Sponsors with Simon Reiter

   Advocates/Sponsors Episode Simon Reiter has more than 23 years of experience across the financial services, education, healthcare, legal and government sectors, Simon is a recognised technology leader. He was named among Australia's Top 50 Chief Information Officers and Digital Transformation Executives and was ranked #5 in Australia in the 2026 CIO50 Awards.  Simon is currently co-chair of the SC3 Executive Committee.  He is an executive mentor with TechLX and Women.4/STEM, and sits on the board of Auticon, actively supporting diversity and inclusion in the technology sector. What does advocacy actually look like in technology leadership? Sometimes it’s not a big initiative or grand gesture. It’s a leader seeing potential in someone before they fully see it themselves. Creating an opportunity. Putting their name forward. Or simply giving them the confidence to take a step they might not have taken alone. That idea sits at the heart of my conversation with Simon. After around a decade mentoring women in technology, Simon has seen confidence come up again and again. Not necessarily because the capability isn’t there,  sometimes quite the opposite. And I loved his openness about the fact that becoming a CTO doesn’t suddenly make those moments of self-doubt or imposter syndrome disappear for him either. The title might change. Being human doesn’t. But Advocacy and sponsorship go beyond confidence. We talk about the role they can play in women’s progression and what happens when careers are also navigating flexibility, caring responsibilities, bias and assumptions about what someone can or wants to take on. We also explore something senior leaders can easily underestimate: how differently people may experience you once there’s a title attached to your name. We get into: How advocacy and sponsorship can support women’s progression in technology The assumptions we can make about ambition, flexibility, caring responsibilities and career progression Why psychological safety matters when people need to speak up, disagree or say something isn't working Leadership shadow and the influence that comes with a senior title Why curiosity can be more powerful than defensiveness when someone brings you a different perspective And there’s a brilliant story about a new starter chatting freely with Simon in a lift…until she discovered he was the CTO. Same Simon. Same lift. Very different conversation. 😄 It’s a simple story, but it says a lot about hierarchy and how intimidating it can feel to speak openly to someone once you know the seniority of the title they carry. These Women in Tech Leadership: Advocates/Sponsors conversations are about bringing different experiences and perspectives into the conversation and learning from what people are already doing that makes a difference. What works? What can we learn from each other? And what could we do more of? Because real progress happens when more of us see the part we can play and choose to play it. ✨ If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone who might need to hear it. Special Mentions Simon is also building a visual schedule app designed with neurodiverse children in mind, particularly kids who thrive with routine, find change difficult, or do better with one clear step at a time. It can also work for any family looking to make everyday routines a little simpler (and hopefully mornings a little less chaotic 😄). Simple routines. More independence. Less mental load for parents and kids. Coming soon! 👀 Watch this space... Get in touch with Simon Reiter: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reitersimon/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/reitersimon/) Where to find me: Website: Sharon (Shaz) Daly   www.techtoexec.com.au (http://www.techtoexec.com.au) LinkedIn: Sharon (Shaz) Daly https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-daly/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-daly/) Instagram: @techtoexec  https://www.instagram.com/techtoexec/ (https://www.instagram.com/techtoexec/) Facebook: TechtoExec  https://www.facebook.com/techtoexec/ (https://www.facebook.com/techtoexec/) Join the COMMUNITY https://techtoexec.com.au/blog/ (https://techtoexec.com.au/blog/)

2. 

   7 Sept 2026

   Episode 27: Human Google, Authentic Leadership & Courageous Conversations by Smriti Behl

   Some people walk into a room and immediately make things feel easier. Smriti Behl is one of those people. Known affectionately as the “Human Google”, Smriti is the person people go to when they need an answer, a connection, a blocker removed… or apparently someone who can organise food AND entertainment for a party with two days’ notice. 😂 But as Smriti puts it, she doesn’t know everything. Her real gift is being a human connector, staying curious, connecting the dots and bringing the right people together. And honestly? She is a ray of sunshine to be around. But don’t mistake that warmth for an unwillingness to have the tough conversations. One of the things I admire most about Smriti is her approach to feedback. She’ll give it when it needs to be given, but she’s equally willing to turn the mirror back on herself. She creates space for her team to tell her what she could do differently as their leader. She asks what they need more of from her, takes them for informal coffee catch-ups when something feels off and creates the psychological safety for conversations that many leaders unintentionally avoid. That takes courage. We also get into something Smriti and I could probably talk about for hours: timing, intuition and those moments in life that somehow unfold exactly as they’re meant to. Smriti shares the career “no” that ended up changing her direction. When she wasn’t given permission to attend cloud training, she studied in her own time, often while her one-year-old daughter slept, she earned the certification anyway and walked away with a lesson she has carried ever since: Sometimes you need to stop waiting for permission and back yourself. Authenticity, Self-Trust & Looking After YOU Authenticity is another big thread running through Smriti’s story. As she has progressed, she’s learned to trust herself more, what feels right, what matters to her and when something doesn’t align with who she is. She doesn’t believe becoming more senior should mean becoming a more polished, corporate version of yourself. We talk leadership without the polished corporate mask. Trust without losing accountability. Why empathy and performance can absolutely coexist. Speaking up when something doesn’t sit right. And why being the leader doesn’t mean being the smartest person in the room or having every answer. The Upsides? ✨ You don't need to know everything to be a brilliant leader. ✨ Curiosity and connection can be genuine leadership superpowers. ✨ Giving people freedom, context and trust can unlock incredible performance. ✨ Receiving feedback can be just as powerful as giving it. ✨ Your warmth and humanity don't need to disappear as you become more senior. ✨ A “no” might just be redirecting you somewhere better. ✨ And sometimes the biggest thing holding us back is waiting for somebody else to give us permission. 🎧 This is a conversation about leadership, courage, connection, intuition and staying completely yourself while doing it. And I reckon we could all use a little more Smriti energy in our workplaces. ☀️ ✨If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone who might need to hear it, these are the conversations that remind us we're not doing life or leadership alone. Reference Links Books: The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett https://stevenbartlett.com/the-book (https://stevenbartlett.com/the-book) Courageous Me by Kim Payne https://kimpayne.com.au/book (https://kimpayne.com.au/book) Start with Why by Simon Sinek https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why (https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why) Get in touch with Smriti: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smritibehl/ (LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smritibehl/) Where to find me: Website: Sharon (Shaz) Daly www.techtoexec.com.au (www.techtoexec.com.au) LinkedIn: Sharon (Shaz) Daly https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-daly/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-daly/) Instagram: @techtoexec https://www.instagram.com/techtoexec/ (https://www.instagram.com/techtoexec/) Facebook: TechtoExec https://www.facebook.com/techtoexec/ (https://www.facebook.com/techtoexec/) Join the COMMUNITY https://techtoexec.com.au/techtoexec-community/ (https://techtoexec.com.au/techtoexec-community/)

3. 

   21 Aug 2026

   Episode 26 - From “Do I belong here?” to “Will this room be better because I’m in it?...by Chethana Krishnakumar

   Chethana Kumar is the Head of Engineering at Nuix and a technology leader with 20 years of experience building platforms, scaling engineering teams, and leading technology transformation. Her career has taken her across India, Singapore, the US, and Australia, shaping her perspective on leadership, culture, migration, and succeeding across different environments. Chethana is passionate about building high-performing teams where people, trust, delivery, and technical excellence can coexist. Her journey is one of reinvention, resilience, and continuous growth, and she is especially committed to creating space for diverse voices and more women to thrive in technology leadership. What you’ll learn in this episode: What happens when you move countries, change technical paths, walk into rooms where you’re sometimes the only woman and refuse to let any of it make you smaller? In this episode of On the Mic WIT Shaz: Women in Tech Leadership — The Upsides, I’m joined by Chethana Krishnakumar, Head of Engineering at Nuix, whose 20-year technology career has taken her across India, Singapore, the US and Australia. Chethana describes her journey as “a migrant with a purpose.” And one of the biggest lessons she learned along the way? Moving countries doesn’t reset your capability. You may be new to the market, but you are not new to excellence. We get into the pressure migrant professionals can feel to take a step backwards for “local experience”, and Chethana offers a brilliant distinction: sometimes a step sideways or down is an investment but only when you know what you’re investing in. Take the learning, build the network, understand the market…but don’t let a temporary move become your ceiling. Then comes one of my favourite moments of the conversation. After moving from QA into development, DevOps transformation and engineering leadership, Chethana found herself questioning whether she was technical enough and whether she belonged in the room. Eventually, she realised the QA background she had been trying to move beyond was actually one of her greatest strengths. So she changed the question. Instead of asking, “Do I belong in this room?” she began asking, “Is this room going to be better with me in there?” Mic. Drop. 🎤 We also talk about quieter voices in technology, why the loudest person in the room isn’t necessarily the most capable, what happens when someone else gets credit for your ideas, the power of genuine sponsorship, and why sometimes you really do need to blow your own trumpet. And Chethana gets beautifully real about ambition, motherhood and flexibility. Choosing flexibility didn’t mean choosing less ambition,  it allowed her to keep growing, leading and creating impact while being present for the other parts of her life that mattered. That is exactly why The Upsides exists. Not to pretend careers are perfect, linear journeys. But to show what can happen when we take the uncomfortable moments, the changes, the mistakes and the times we questioned ourselves…and turn them into information, growth and a better way of leading. Chethana’s story is a brilliant reminder: you don’t have to erase where you came from to become who you’re becoming. ✨If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone who might need to hear it. Reference Links Kim Payne - Courageous Me https://kimpayne.com.au/book (https://kimpayne.com.au/book) Medium blogs - (https://medium.com/@chethana.kumar)https://medium.com/@chethana.kumar (https://medium.com/@chethana.kumar) Atomic Habit - https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits (https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits) Get in touch with Chethana: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chethana-krishnakumar-a474416/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chethana-krishnakumar-a474416/) Where to find me: Website: Sharon (Shaz) Daly    (http://www.techtoexec.com.au)www.techtoexec.com.au (http://www.techtoexec.com.au) LinkedIn: Sharon (Shaz) Daly (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-daly/)https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-daly/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-daly/) Instagram: @techtoexec   (https://www.instagram.com/techtoexec/)https://www.instagram.com/techtoexec/ (https://www.instagram.com/techtoexec/) Facebook: TechtoExec   (https://www.facebook.com/techtoexec/)https://www.facebook.com/techtoexec/ (https://www.facebook.com/techtoexec/) Join the COMMUNITY https://techtoexec.com.au/techtoexec-community/ (https://techtoexec.com.au/techtoexec-community/)

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